


Coming Out With The Help Of Phil

by oliviawrites (LauraLittlemiss)



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Coming Out, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-12-04 17:09:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11559666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LauraLittlemiss/pseuds/oliviawrites
Summary: Dan wants to come out. Might as well ask his best friend if he'll pretend to be his boyfriend.orThe fake relationship au that literally no one asked for.





	Coming Out With The Help Of Phil

"Phil, I need your help." Dan said the moment the phone call connected. He had a plan, and Phil was probably the only one close enough to him to help him with it. "What for?" Dan heard Phil reply. Phil's voice was crackly over the line, sounding slightly deeper. His voice was far more northern on the phone, more so then it was in normal conversation. (Dan often made fun of Phil for how northern he could be.)

 

"I want to come out." 

"Okay, that's wonderful, but why do you need my help?" Came Phil's reply, he didn't sound disinterested, maybe just a little bit surprised.

"I may or may not be calling to ask you if you would possibly pretend to be my boyfriend for a bit?" Was Dan's hesitant reply. 

 

"Dan," Phil said. There was a short pause, and a bit of shuffling as Phil got more comfortable, before Phil talked again. "Fine, but you have to treat me like royalty."

"Oh, kinky," Dan commented. "I can be your servant boy that sneaks away to your quarters to help you undress."

"Dan," Phil said on the verge of a laugh. "Don't make me regret this." Dan laughed, promising that he wouldn't. 

"When are you planning to start coming out? And what parts of it will you need me for?" Phil asked, wondering how much thought Dan had actually put into this before asking him. "I don't know yet. I was thinking of maybe coming out to my parents later this week. You can come over some time this later and we can sit down and have a 'chat' with them. Maybe after that we can take some cute couple-y pics and post them to Facebook for my conservative relatives to see and gossip about. They love gossip, especially when it involves scandals. Would you be okay with that?" 

"I think that's a good plan, but what we will do after you're done coming out? Will we just continue to pretend to date or stage a massive break-up? 'Cause if we stage a break-up we will have to stop being friends, at least for a little while to 'heal' from our break-up. Good luck trying to pretend getting over me."   
Dan started to worry his lip between his teeth. Part of the reason he asked Phil to do this because he had the largest crush on Phil for the longest time. When Dan first realized it he tried to repress his feelings for the longest time, similar to what he had done with his sexuality. He had realized he had a crush on Phil shortly after he came out to him- and Phil came out to him right after.

It was a late summer night two years ago. Phil was 14 and Dan was almost 14. They were sitting out on the trampoline, talking about every thing and nothing. "So do you like anyone?" Phil had asked. Dan had short-circuited on a response, his mind pulling a complete blank on what to say. "T-Tom, he's pretty cute. Not really boyfriend-material, but he's cute. Plus I highly doubt he would go for me and all that," Dan had stuttered out, realizing what he had said only after he had blurted it.

Dan's heart was beating so loudly he was nearly positive that the aliens on Mars (who are totally real, by the way) could hear it. Phil's eyes widened, processing what Dan said. Dan was so close to believing that he had lost his best friend of 3 years that he almost wished that the aliens on Mars would come and abduct him. That was the case until Phil blurted out "Tom's cute, but Peter's sweeter. Plus Peter's eyes look more normal, have you seen how Tom's get when he is spaced out? It's weird." Dan gaped, both of the boys clearly surprised at what they were each admitting to. Dan giggled, Phil joining in shortly after. 

Dan came back to the present when he heard Phil talking on the phone. "Well, what do you think we should do?" Dan cleared his throat, realizing that Phil probably took his silence for thinking about what to do, not reminiscing on old summers. "I honestly don't know, should we just go with it? Who knows maybe we'll end up falling in love like in the movies." 

Phil laughed at that, and Dan felt as if he could physically feel his heart sinking, not to be dramatic or anything. (But totally to be dramatic because it there was one thing Dan was, it was dramatic.) He forced himself to laugh along with Phil, praying that the situation wouldn't become awkward. "Do you want me to come over tomorrow and we can start to act the part for some foreshadowing?" Dan thought for a few seconds before replying. He figured it would be a good idea, that way his parents might notice something was up between him and Phil. 

"Sure, want to come to my house after school?"  
.

"Honestly, do you think this is a bad idea?" 

Dan was nervous. This was huge for him. He was starting the process of publicly coming out and not only that, he could unknowingly be in the process of accidentally ruining his relationship with his best friend. Dan didn't want to dwell on all the problems that could arise and ruin everything. 

"I don't think it's a bad idea, Dan. A tad unconventional, but I'm sure people have done this before," Phil reassured him. He could sense how nervous Dan was, he was constantly fidgeting with his hands and his eyes never stayed in one place for long. "Seriously, just relax. If you're freaking out so much you don't have to go through with it. You're under no obligation to anyone to come out." Dan nodded so Phil knew he understood what he was saying. "I'll be fine, it's just a bit of a scary thought when I realized exactly what we are doing."   
Phil raised a eyebrow. "What part are you most scared of?" 

"I dunno. I don't want anything bad to happen with my parents. I'm not completely sure they will support me." Phil nodded, coming closer to Dan to hug him. He had felt similarly before he came out, he knew what it was like to doubt his parents.Phil was nearly positive that his parents would've supported his sexuality, and he was right, but it was still a really terrifying thought to have. Nobody wants to think about their parents possibly kicking them out for something they can't change. 

"Dan, you'll be alright. Worst case scenario we'll have to move to Mexico, but you should be fine." Dan laughed a little, leaning into Phil's hug a bit more. When he pulled back his face was back to a more normal color.   
"Okay, lets go upstairs. I'm nearly positive that I'll desperately need your help on the math homework Mr. Ansley gave us." Phil laughed and followed Dan up the stairs.   
.

"Dan!" Dan heard his mum calling up the stairs. He ran over to his door and opened it, stepping into the hallway and leaning over the stair railing. "Yes?"   
"Will Phil be staying for dinner?" Dan was about to reply when Phil beat him to it. "Yes ma'am, I will be. Thank you for having me," Phil came up behind Dan, resting his arm on Dan's waist. He leaned over and whispered, "It's for the plan. We have to make them believe something is up." Dan smiled, trying to make it look like Phil was whispering something romantic in his ear. Dan made sure his mom took notice before pulling Phil back into his room.

Walking back over the his bed, Dan glanced down at his homework again.   
"I just don't get this problem. Like, at all." Phil leaned over Dan's shoulder, glancing at the paper. "Okay, so remember that the one has to be carried. You can't forget the one. Then add up your variables and boom, you got it. The rest of the problem is just basic math that we've been doing since 8th grade." Dan only slightly heard that sentence. Phil's head was resting on his shoulder, Phil's chest was pressed to his back, and Phil's arm had come to be pressed against Dan's arm as he explained the problem to him, pointing to each number as he talked him through. Dan was surrounded by Phil and loving almost every second of it. 

"Oh, yeah. That's makes sense," Dan quickly said when he realized he had been daydreaming for too long. He was hoping it passed off as trying to understand the problem. "Thanks." Phil nodded and turned back to his paper. Dan already missed his warmth. 'Can you stop being such a teenage girl?' Dan asked himself. 

"Boys! Dinner's ready!" Both him and Phil scrambled to the door, they were both starving. "Coming!" They yelled in unison as they ran down the stairs. 

"Mum, this smells amazing." Dan told his mom. 

"Mrs. Howell, you make some of the best food ever." Phil exclaimed.   
Dan's mom smiled as she placed the boys' plates in front of them. "You flatter me too much, boys." She finished setting the table, placing a plate in front of her place and Dan's place. 

"I'll get drinks." Dan stood up and got 4 glasses. He knew his parents' preferences, but not Phil's. "Hey Phil, what do you want to drink?" 

"I'm good with water, love." Dan was glad his front was facing the fridge, away from his mother and Phil. His cheeks were bright red, something that he hoped Phil wouldn't notice. Dan cursed the fact that he blushes so easily, especially from something trivial as being called "love." He was honestly a hot mess. 

He heard someone walking behind him, out of the corner of his eye he saw Phil come up behind him. "I can take this." Phil suggested, gesturing to the glasses already filled with liquid. Dan was aware that his mom was watching them. "Sure, you can take those two." Phil placed his hands on Dan's waist as he stepped behind him to grab the glasses off the counter. Dan tried to keep his chill as he brought the water over to his mum. 

'He wouldn't be doing this if your mom wasn't watching, Dan. He doesn't actually like you back.' He chastised himself in his head. His mom caught his eye, raising an eyebrow as she gestured between him and Phil. He look away as he sat in his place, watching Phil finish pouring glasses of water. 

"Here you go." Phil commented as he placed the glasses in their correct spots on the table. The moment Phil sat down, Dan's dad walked in the door.   
"Honey, I'm home!" Dan's mom smiled as his father came over and kissed her on the cheek. His dad sat down in his place across from Dan (Phil was sitting across from his mom) and looked down at his plate. "Wow, this looks delicious," His dad said. "Shall we eat?" Everyone nodded in agreement and started to eat. 

Phil was playing with Dan's feet under the table (not like that, it was simply platonic) and multiple times Dan was too focused on beating Phil at the games to concentrate on eating his food properly. Dan's parents were starting to take notice too, apparent on the ways their eyes shifted between the two of them. "Everything alright, boys?" Mrs. Howell asked. "Yes ma'am." Phil replied sweetly. Dan coughed "Suck up," into his fist, resulting in a shove from Phil under the table and both Howells laughing at the exchange.   
.

"I think me and Phil are going to head back upstairs to finish our project for school," Dan said. "So, we'll just be heading upstairs." Phil shot him a confused look as they headed upstairs. "We have a project?" Phil asked. 

"Obviously not, you spoon, I want to hang out with you." 

"Oh," Phil said. "What should we do then?"

"Xbox?" Dan suggested as they walked up the stairs. 

Phil smiled. "Prepare for me to beat your ass."

"Phillip," Dan said, faking a dramatic gasp. "I cannot believe you would say such crude things to a lady."

"You're implying you're a lady now?" Phil asked, a eyebrow raised. 

"I've always been a lady, thank you very much," Dan said stiffly. "You're just too much of a ass to notice."

Both Dan and Phil's laughter echoed down the hallway.   
.

A few days passed and everything was normal between Dan and Phil. Dan still had a massive crush on Phil, Phil was still oblivious to said crush, and they were still the best of friends. The charade was still continuing, much to Dan's enjoyment. They had decided that casual PDA around their friends is something that they should try. It was simple, really, Phil would come up and casually put his arm Dan's waist, Dan would hug Phil from behind. They both agreed that because Dan wanted to come out to his friends as well they might normalize Phil being his "boyfriend." 

Dan was loving every minute of it, and every moment was a shrill reminder that some day, this was going to end. And he would be left pining away for Phil.   
But he tried not to focus on that.

He was in currently in a math lesson, Phil a few seats ahead of him. Dan was somewhat aware of the teacher's voice in the background, droning on and on about finding Z. 

He was faintly aware of the way Phil was whispering to his desk partner, how his lips were moving and quirking up into a little smile when he was done talking, probably saying something about how stupid the teacher was. Dan was content watching Phil being funny. Totally and completely content with watching Phil and pretending that they were actually boyfriends. Content pretending that Phil had professed his love to Dan, that they had decided would live happily ever after. 

He knew it was a lie. He knew that it would probably never happen and that Phil didn't love him like that. But here's the thing about Dan Howell, well, two things really; he is completely and totally stubborn, and he loves pretending.   
.

Phil was fucked. 

And he was aware he was fucked, hell, his mom was aware he was fucked. And when your mom knows you are fucked, you should definitely know that you are fucked. 

Pretending to date Dan Howell was probably the best thing that Phil had ever agreed to. And also the worse.

Phil was in love with Dan. It was that simple. He had been for as long as he could remember and he personally didn't know, nor care, if it was love or not but he liked to think that it was.

Phil never struggled with his sexuality. It was really that simple. One month he had a crush on a pretty girl named Donna Newton and the next month he had a crush on the jock of the high school football team. Phil didn't know what he was and he didn't really care, he just knew that right now, he was in love with his best friend, Dan Howell.

When Dan had suggested that pretend to date to create a platform for Dan to come out on, Phil was all for it. Yes, he was a bit wary because they would eventually have to break up, but he wasn't focusing on that. 

The thing was, Dan was gay. He clearly and proudly was,that was something that Phil admired of Dan. He knew how hard it was for him to come to terms with his sexuality, and even how hard it had been for him to just get comfortable with who he is. 

And that made he unrequited feelings worse. Of course, with logic, it would seem that Dan being gay was the better option. He could actually return his feelings! But for Phil, it was worse. The fact that Dan could fall in love with him but hadn't stung more than Dan being straight. Because if Dan was straight, there would be no way that he could return Phil's feelings. But he's gay, and Phil is still left pining after a boy who wouldn't ever fall for him.  
.

Dan could easily tell something was up with Phil. It was as clear as day. He was distant, spaced out, and sluggish. Dan could easily see the dark circles under his eyes, and to put it simply, Dan was worried as hell. 

He decided to confront Phil that night when they decided to have an impromptu sleepover. They were sitting across from each other on Dan's bed, a popcorn bowl in the middle of them. (Phil's comfort food.) Dan tried to start the conversation naturally, but he didn't know how. 

"Hey, Phil," He started, gaining Phil's attention. "Are you okay?"   
.

Phil wasn't okay. He was glad Dan asked, like really glad he asked, because he had been trying to say his true feelings for a long time. 

Phil made eye contact with Dan, taking a bit more popcorn into his mouth to try to delay speaking for just a tiny bit longer. Dan was watching him like a hawk, which he was very aware of. Honestly, of all the times Dan could be watching him closely, it had to be the time he was stuffing his mouth with popcorn and trying to chew it as slowly as possible. Phil huffed, eyes downcast on the bed. 

"Are you gonna speak or?" Dan said, voice suggesting that Phil should definitely speak.

Phil swallowed. 

This was it, he was going to have to tell him. He was going to courageously tell Dan about his crush on him. Tell him he was sorry, but he couldn't control it. He would swear that nothing would change, they would still be the best of friends. Dan would understand but he would make it clear that he didn't like Phil back. Phil would nod his head, saying that he understand and he would promise that nothing would change, again. 

But he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell Dan. 

Instead, he looked back at Dan. He could tell his best friend was worried, it was clear in his body language. His eyes looked concerned, and as much as it pained for Phil to see Dan worried, it made him slightly happy that he knew Dan was worried over him. 

"It's nothing, I swear. I'm just tired. That's all." Phil tried to smile convincingly, though he didn't thing Dan was reassured. Probably the opposite.

Dan raised an eyebrow, picking up a handful of popcorn. "If you say so, Phil," He started to eat one of the pieces of popcorn. "But if something is wrong, you better tell me."

Phil smiled. "Nothing is wrong, I promise. In fact, I am very happy." And he meant it.  
.

"I think I'm finally ready to come out." They were walking to school, something that they often did when the morning were a cool enough temperature for them to not freeze or burn as they walked. 

"Are you sure?" Phil questioned. He didn't want Dan to come out unless he was totally, one-hundred percent sure. He himself had accidentally come out to a few of his friends (he just couldn't resist joking about how gay he is sometimes) and while it didn't end badly, it had still felt like he was a baby caterpillar forced out of his cocoon before he could become a butterfly.   
Dan nodded. "I'm sure," Dan said, his voice confident. "I may not come out to my parents just yet, but I want to come out to PJ and Chris and all of them." Phil smiled. He was glad that Dan felt like their friends were safe to come out to. They defiantly were, but just because some people are safe to come out to doesn't mean that a person is always ready to come out to them. And that's fine. 

"Okay," Phil responded. "Do you want to just tell them or do you wan to continue with the plan of us pretending to be boyfriends?"

"The plan," Dan said quickly, nearly talking over Phil. "I mean, we might as well use it, right?" Dan laughed nervously. 

Why was he nervous? 

"Dan, are you sure you want to do this?" Phil asked, pausing on the side of the road. "Because you shouldn't come out if you're positive."

Dan rolled his eyes, pulling Phil with him as he walked. "Phil, I am sure I want to come out. Don't worry about that.I'm nervous about the fact that we are officially putting our plan into action."

Phil could understand. Like, he could really understand. He was nervous as hell. This was it, Phil probably wasn't prepared to deal with the consequences that this idea could bring. What had they gotten themselves into? Phil was properly thinking about this for the first time. This could ruin their friendship. 

"Hey, Dan?" Phil asked, a hint of anxiety ever-present in his voice. 

Dan hummed a answer of reply, signalling for Phil to continue speaking.

"What if we're messing everything up by pretending to date?" Dan turned back to look at him, pausing in his tracks a few steps ahead of Phil. Dan was always going the extra mile for dramatic effect (and Phil loved every second of it). 

"What do you mean?" Dan decided to walk along sides Phil, their fingers casually (although Phil's brain was not taking the action casually) brushing every step. 

"Think about it, what if, and this is totally, one hundred percent hypothetically speaking, what if one of us were to get feelings for the other? What could we do then?" Dan looked at him, a look in his eyes that Phil just couldn't quite place.

"Well, it's too late now, isn't it?"  
.

 

Dan didn't mean to answer with a question that had two meanings to it. He just hoped that Phil wouldn't think about it too much. Really, what was he thinking, saying that? Did Phil know what he meant? What if Phil didn't think that by "too late now" he was simply talking about them fake dating? What if he read between the lines and figured out that Dan had feelings for Phil? It was bothering him all 1st and 2nd period. What if Phil figured it out by lunch, when they finally see each other again? Dan sighed, grabbing his books from his locker and heading to 3rd period. There wasn't anything that he could do about it now.  
.

He met up with Phil in lunch line. This was the last place that they would see each other before meeting up with their friends for lunch. They had to make a war plan. 

"So, what are we going to do?" Phil asked as he shuffled a mediocre looking piece of pizza onto his lunch tray. He wasn't sure if they were still on for the whole fake dating thing.

"I was planning on sitting down and acting normal. Slowly progress to acting more like a couple, not the level that Troye and Conner show the world, but in between elderly couple in the park and Tronner," Phil raised a eyebrow as Dan talked, deciding not to interrupt. "Then if they don't notice that anything strange is going on, which they should, but if they don't, we should kiss."

Phil sputtered. "Kiss?" He exclaimed, both eyebrows high on his forehead as he punched in his lunch number, not even bothering to care what the lunch lady was overhearing. 

Dan shrugged. "I mean, sure, why not?"

"Dan, you've never kissed anyone!" Dan glared at him as he grabbed some chips as he waited to pay. "Announce it to Russia, will you? And why is that a problem, scared I'll be a bad kisser?" His face became more reserved, more vulnerable. "Do you not want to kiss me?" 

"No, Dan! That's not it at all," Phil explained. "I just don't want to make it bad for you. You know, this is important. It's your first kiss! I don't want it to be a lousy first kiss, you know? Unless, you know, that's what you want." Phil couldn't believe he was saying this in the lunch line, in front of the staff and at least ten other people. 

"No, Phil, I want it to be with you. You're my best friend." Dan's smile was so honest and reassuring that it filled Phil with happiness.

"Not to butt in or anything, but you guys are really pushing the 'no homo' limit." Some random guy butted into the conversation, giving his unwanted opinion. Both Dan and Phil turned to face him, both of their eyes fixed in a glare on the boy.

"We're a couple, the homo is totally intended. Right, babe?" Dan said. 

"Yup." Phil said, walking over to Dan and slinging his arm around Dan's waist.  
.

They walked over to their normal table where Chris, Louise, Pj, Zoe, Troye, and Conner were sitting at, like normal. They were two spots left open in between Troye and Louise, as always. Dan and Phil sat down listening in on the conversations that everyone was having. 

"I'm just saying that his face looks weird!" Zoe argued to Troye. "It's not like I'm trying to indirectly call him ugly or anything, I'm just saying that his face is one of those faces that just looks wrong. Stop acting like I made a waffle out of your child's head."

"Still, when you call someone's face weird most people assume you are indirectly calling them ugly," Troye insisted. "But that's besides the point, he's not ugly. He's one of the prettiest people that I've ever seen." 

"You're only saying that because he's a celebrity and you're in love with him," Zoe said. "You've been brainwashed by society into believing that." 

Dan snorted, drawing the attention of Zoe and Troye (and the rest of the table). "Dan!" Zoe exclaimed. "Phil!" Both Dan and Phil waved to Zoe. 

"What's new with you two?" Troye asked. "Huh, that kind of rhymed." 

"Nothing much," Phil responded. "I mean, is there anything that you can think of, Dan?" 

Dan caught the hint, thank you very much. He raised a eyebrow at Phil before relaxing properly in his chair. "Not that I can think of." He said. He knew that Phil was asking him if he wanted to put the plan into action. Dan did, he just didn't want to be so up front about it. So. he decided to be more casual. He slightly leaned more into Phil, grabbing some of his unfinished food off of his tray. When Phil raised a questioning brow in response, Dan shrugged. Phil returned to talking to Conner about all the homework for one of their classes. Nobody really took notice of them being more touchy then normal. 

Dan rested his head on Phil's shoulder, deciding to go farther. Phil reached his arm behind Dan's back and pulled him closer. 

Dan closed his eyes, internally sighing in comfort. He couldn't tell if their friends realized that they were purposely trying to act closer to each other, and at this point he didn't really care. He snuggled up a little closer to Phil, scooting his chair so that their chairs were pretty much flush with each other, almost like a couch. Phil laughed slightly at Dan, but continued to talk with their friends nonetheless. 

Dan was honestly, 100 percent, completely and totally happy.   
.

No, their friends didn't notice anything was up (which was leading Phil to question the relationship that everyone assumed he and Dan had), so it looked like he and Dan would have to kiss in front of their friends; not that Phil was really complaining about that.

Dan must've been tired at lunch because he ended up falling asleep on Phil's shoulder during lunch. Their lunch was only 45 minutes and Dan had slept for 35 of it. It was kind of cute, if you asked Phil. 

He told Dan how nobody said anything and he shrugged, tugging on Phil's hand as he pulled them to their next class. Phil willingly followed, trailing after Dan like a lost puppy. 

They walked into science, which was thankfully their second to last class. Dan sat down at his normal spot, dragging Phil into the chair besides him. This was one of the classes that didn't have assigned seats, which was why it was almost everyone's favorite class. (And also because the teacher was one of the best teachers in the school.) 

"What should we do?" Phil asked.

"About what?" Dan responded, munching on a bit of a sandwich he had saved from lunch, he had some saved since he had slept through the entire thing.   
"About the fact that nobody noticed that we were acting any different." Phil said, taking a bit of Dan's leftover lunch.

"I think we should kiss," Phil's eyes widening slightly as he looked at Dan. Dan seemed perfectly normal and relaxed about this, not that he shouldn't, it was just a kiss after all. Still, Phil's heart was pounding at the mere thought of kissing Dan. He was overjoyed thinking about it. "We should do it in front of all of our friends at lunch, that way it'll get the point across and we don't have to have a long, drawn out sappy talk about it."

Phil nodded, sitting back in his chair. "Sounds good." He said, gulping in anticipation of kissing Dan.  
.

They decided they were going to do it tomorrow. 

Phil was up almost the entire night. He knew he shouldn't be freaking out about it, it was just a kiss after all. But it was who he was kissing. He was kissing Dan, his best friend, the person that he had basically grew up with and was totally in love with. But that was the thing; Dan couldn't know that he was in love with him. Dan was bound to find out if they kissed. Phil knew he would fuck up and say something to hint at his undying love for his best friend. 

In short, Phil was stressed about it. 

He lugged himself over to Dan's house, knocking on the door while stifling a yawn. It was too damn early for this.Phil normally just knocked on the door and waited for Dan to come out, but today Dan's mom opened the door with a grin, noticing him. "Phil!" Mrs. Howell said, clearly excited. "Come on in, it feels like we haven't seen you in forever. It looks like Dan is running a bit late this morning." She opened the door fully and gestured for Phil to come in, closing it once he was inside the house. 

Just as he was explaining their hectic school schedules to Dan's mother, (they had four tests on Friday. Four!), Dan came tumbling down the steps. "Hey, mom, do you know where Thomas' old pair of kind of dressy shoes are? I have to impress someone-" Dan's sentence was cut off as Dan spotted Phil waiting in the kitchen. Phil raised an eyebrow at Dan. "Who do you have to impress today at school?" Phil asked. To tease him further he added, "Is it a girl?"   
Dan swatted at Phil's arm as he went to hug his mother, who was fondly smiling. "I haven't seen you brother's shoes since he left for college, who are you trying to impress?" 

Dan shrugged. "It's no one important." 

"You should be trying to impress me, Dan," Phil said, grabbing Dan's back bag for him and handing it to him. "I see you every day, you should show how much you care for me by trying to impress me everyday!" Phil just felt like teasing Dan today. 

"Of course, Phil, I live only to serve you," Dan replied. Pulling his backpack on, he kissed his mother on the cheek and took the piece of toast she had made for him. "Want some?"

Phil nodded, opening his mouth. Dan giggled a bit before guiding the toast to Phil's mouth to let him take a bite. 

"You two are ridiculous. You'd think you're married." Dan's mother commented, mirth clear in her voice. 

"Agh, don't talk to me about marriage yet." Dan said, intertwining his arm with Phil's and starting to move towards the door.

"Lovely to see you again, Mrs. Howell! Thank you for the toast!"   
.

"We're doing this. We're actually doing this," Dan was having a mini freak out in the bathroom, nothing huge. "Oh my gosh, I can't believe we're doing this!" 

"Okay, you need to chill," Phil said, watching as Dan paced around the bathroom outside of the lunch hall. "You're starting to sound like Rapunzel before she jumped out of her tower with Flynn Rider."

Dan stopped pacing and looked back to him, a teasing expression on his face. "So, basically, you're implying that you're my Flynn Rider?"

Phil sputtered, shoving a laughing Dan Howell up against the wall. "No, that's not what I'm saying!" Phil laughed a bit, his laughter mixing with the dying laughs of Dan. "I'm just saying you need to stop overthinking this, you know that our friends will accept you. Stop stressing out."

Dan responded by quietly singing the chorus of twenty-one-pilots "Stressed Out."

"They're going to love you no matter what," Phil assured, grabbing Dan's arm and lightly pulling him off the wall. "Now come on, it's show time."  
.

"Hey guys." Dan said as casually as he could. He hoped he pulled off a more relaxed demeanor then what he actually felt like, but one could only hope for so much. 

"Hi, Dan!" Louise said, patting the spot next to her where Dan usually sits. "Anything new happening with you and Phil?"

Dan's brain immediately freaked out. How did they find out? Phil had said that they had no idea, at least not that he could tell. And while Phil may be oblivious, he could also be very observant. 

"Not much. We haven't had a super busy day, right Dan?" Phil had probably caught onto Dan's mini freak out in his head. Once Dan calmed down, he realized that Louise had just meant what had happened to them today, nothing more. "Yeah, it's been pretty uneventful." He added on.   
'You need to fucking chill, man.' He said to himself, hoping and praying that he could actually do it.   
.  
Their lunch period was nearly over, something Dan was painfully aware of. He could see Phil sending him looks and side glances. 

He decided to bite the bullet, hoping that Phil caught onto what he was doing.   
"Hey, Phil," He said, tugging on Phil's sleeve. He tried to send him a look like 'hey, play along, I'm finally fucking doing this,' to him, but he wasn't sure if it was working. "I'm going to go to the bathroom. 

"Okay, babe." Babe? Dan wasn't expecting him to call him that. Dan repressed a smile on his face, he was desperately trying to act like this was a normal name that Phil called him all the time. Dan started to walk away before suddenly remembering the kiss. This was probably the one time that Dan was going to get to kiss Phil, like hell he was giving it up. 

He turned on his heel and walked over to Phil, leaning down so that their heads were at the same level and pressing their lips together. 

This was it, this was the moment that Dan had dreamed of countless times, day-dreamed about even more, planned out over and over and over again in his head. It was finally happening, his heart was pounding like crazy, and he was blatantly aware of every single eye at that table (and probably some in the lunchroom) fixed directly on both his and Phil's lips locked together. 

He pulled away, trying to get his breathing back into control. He walked out of the lunchroom, still pretending to go to the bathroom like he was before.  
He went into a stall and locked it, leaning against the door as he pressed his fingers to his still wet lips.  
.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Louise questioned, eyes wide as they stared after Dan's retreating form. 

"Uh, me and him are kind of a thing now?" Phil answered back, suddenly nervous. Damn Dan Howell, with him leaving him all alone to answer an entire table's questions. 

"When did this happen?" Zoe asked excitedly. Oh shit, Phil hadn't discussed that with Dan. He tried to think up a acceptable amount of time that still seemed believable. 

"Uh, around a month maybe?" Zoe squealed, typing on her phone. "Wait, who are you texting?" Phil asked, wary of how fast she typing. "Oh, nobody," She promised. "Don't worry about it."

Phil sighed, answering the barrage of questions concerning the likes of his and Dan's relationship. He tried to flunk his way through as many of them as he could.   
.

"You left me to the wolves!" Phil exclaimed, laughing along with Dan. "That wasn't my intention, I swear!" Dan promised, shaking with laughter on Phil's bed. The boys had just gotten home from the shit-storm that was school. Their friends were questioning them every chance they got, which Phil doesn't blame them at all for, he would've done the same. 

Now the two boys were lying on Phil's bed. Phil was having a small internal debate on whether or not to kiss Dan again. To attempt to blur the lines between friendship and more. He, in the end, decided against doing such a big thing on a random whim. He was aware of Dan besides him, his eyes flickering to him every few minutes. The boys tended to do that a lot unconsciously, their brains just reminding them to check on each other when they knew they were near. Phil loved that they did it, it just was another reminder of how ingrained they were in each other lives. It was a constant show of how much Dan meant to him, like proof of their relationship. Phil was drawn out of his state of thought by Dan gaping at his phone. 

"What?" Phil asked, moving closer to Dan so that he could see his phone screen better. Phil's head ended up resting on Dan's shoulder, his body curling slightly around Dan's. 

Dan brought the phone closer to Phil's face so that he could read it. The screen was pulled up to a picture. A picture of them. Phil grabbed the phone out of Dan's grasp to examine it more closely. "Is that what I think it is?" Phil asked hesitatingly. Dan nodded, not meeting Phil's gaze. 

The photo was of them, Phil was whispering something in Dan's ear, Dan clearly giggling at whatever he said. Phil was hugging Dan so that his front was pressed against Dan's side, Phil's arms clasped against Dan's other side. They, to put it simply, looked very much like a couple. The picture was posted on Instagram, and it was posted by someone who he didn't recognize. Phil glanced down to the caption, worried about what someone could make up about them with this type of picture. 

The caption read, "One of the cutest couples at Glenwood High! Dan and Phil recently came out, such a brave step for them!"

"Oh no," Phil said after a minute, handing the phone back to Dan. "Dan, don't stress, we can fix this." 

Dan looked paler than normal. He was worrying his lip between his teeth, something Phil knew he did when he was nervous. Phil clasped Dan's hand in his own. 

"Hey," Phil said, gaining Dan's attention. "We'll figure this out. We can see how bad the backlash is. We can either go with it or ignore it completely. We'll be alright."

Dan nodded, allowing Phil to hug him tightly. Phil tried to comfort him. Dan was basically just outed to the entire school. While Phil was too, it wasn't going to be as bad for him. Phil never really hid his sexuality at all, there was no reason for him to at school. He explained it to the few people he felt should know and that was it. Dan hadn't told anyone except for Phil, he was basically being dragged out of his shell. 

While both of them could simply ignore it, let it be exactly what it was; a rumor. They could deny it, if they wanted. This whole fake dating thing had shoved them both into a world that they might not be prepared to handle. 

But for right now, Phil hugged Dan. This could end up being very bad.   
.

The next day at school was interesting, to say the least. People were glancing at them, their friends sending them pity looks, but the worst part for Dan was how Phil had started to keep his distance. Phil didn't causally hold his hand like usual, or randomly kiss his cheek. He was still acting pretty normal, he was a little distant; but really, they both were. They were just kind of floating through the day. 

So far, no one had harassed them. Weird looks, sure, but no terrible comments besides the random "fags" one. That was normal though, so neither Dan nor Phil were terribly affected by it. 

No, Dan was just lonely.   
.

 

"Mom, I'm home!" Dan shouted, dragging Phil behind him into the house. 

"Hello, sweetie!" Mrs. Howell said, coming around the corner. "I see you brought Phil home with you, no surprise there." Both Dan and Phil chuckled. 

"Dinner will probably be ready in about 20 minutes," His mom continued. "I'll call you down when it's ready." 

Dan thanked her and proceeded to drag Phil up the stairs. Dan always dragged Phil everywhere, it was a habit of his that he didn't always notice. Phil liked it, it was kid of fun being dragged everywhere. 

"I think I want to come out today. Just have a feeling." 

"Shall we shock them over dinner?" Phil asked. 

"You, know that actually sounds nice. Let's go for drama. I want my mom crying and my dad more uncomfortable than he was during my birth." Phil laughed at how over-dramatic Dan was being.   
.

"Mrs. Howell, this looks so good!" Phil complimented the food as he sat down at the table. Mrs. Howell patted his shoulder as she moved past him to sit down. 

"Thank you, Phil. You're always so sweet, unlike someone." She said, throwing a look in Dan's direction. Dan laughed, Mrs. Howell and Phil joining in. 

"Will dad be joining us?" Dan asked. "I kind of wanted to talk to you and dad about something. Well, both me and Phil, actually." Dan's mom raised her eyebrows, but nodded. Dan gulped, looking down at his plate. Phil grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed. Dan nearly forgot that Phil had gone through the very same as Dan, only years ago. Dan sent Phil a quick thankful glance, quickly answering his mother's question about homework. 

Just in then Mr. Howell walked in the door. "Hey, guys!" He said, setting his briefcase down on the floor. His dad walked over to his wife, kissing the top of his head lovingly. He walked over to Dan and did the same, and surprising Phil, did the same. Phil knew that Dan's parents liked him, but it made his heart swell with happiness that Mr. Howell did such a thing. It just made him happy.   
Once his dad had sat down, they all began eating. They all talk about their days, Dan and Phil not mentioning the recent rumors circling their school.   
"Didn't you have something you wanted to tell us?" Mrs. Howell asked Dan. Dan cleared his throat, placing his fork and knife on his plate. 

"Actually, yes," Dan admitted. "I've meaning to talk to you guys about that for a while." 

Mr. Howell chuckled. "Should we be worried?" Dan winced slightly, "Probably not, but I don't know," Both of Dan's parents seemed to notice that this situation was slightly serious. Phil took hold of Dan's hand yet again for moral support. "Just know that you can't change this, so just try to accept it." By this point, both of his parents looked worried. 

"I'm a homosexual," Dan blurted. "I mean, well, I'm gay. Well, they're the same thing but gay is a more common term. I like dudes." Phil could easily tell how nervous Dan was. 

"I kind of am too, by the way," Phil added. "And we're kind of dating?" Dan held up their adjoined hands. Both Mr. Howell and Mrs. Howell were wearing matching expressions of shock. Phil hoped that it was just disbelief about all things they spilled, not that they were so shocked that they were planning on kicking Dan out. Phil highly doubted that they would do such a thing, but you always had to prepare for the worst when it came to coming out. 

"Dan, love, we knew," Dan's mom broke the silence. "And we love and accept you the way you are, we made that promise when we became your parents all those years ago. I didn't go through labor for 18 hours just to kick my son out of the house nearly 17 years later. We accept you, endlessly." Dan's father was nodding along the entire time. "Now, the whole you two dating thing, I only recently caught onto that," She smiled. (It seems that Dan's mom is always smiling, Phil noted. A common trait that Dan shares with her.) "How long has this been going on?" 

Dan smiled, leaning back and relaxing in his chair, "Around a month?" Dan looked to Phil, their gazes connecting in a more intimate way then ever before. Maybe it was the huge smile on Dan's face? The fact that their faces were mere inches apart? Phil didn't know, but it was different. "Yeah, about a month." Phil responded. Of course, they had only been "dating" for about a week and a half, but they wanted to seem more realistic. 

"Well, we wish you two the best of luck." Dan's father assured.   
.

"I did that!" Dan exclaimed. Phil laughed. "Yeah, you did," Phil pulled him into a hug. "I'm really proud of you, but I know you already know that."

The two of them how decided to go on a walk. Which in theory sounded really healthy, but it was actually just to get ice cream. There was a small ice cream place a tiny bit past their school, both of them agreeing that it was more then worth it. Currently, they were walking along the main road on the sidewalk.

"Okay, so we've come out to our friends and your friends, dragging you out of the closet in the process, which is what we wanted," Phil summed up. "Is there anyone else that you need to come out to while we are still 'dating?'" Dan thought about it for a minute. "No," He clarified. "I think that's it." Phil's hand found Dan's and grasped it, gently running his thumb across the back of Dan's hand. 

"Well, we don't have to be putting up with this whole fake-dating thing, do we?" Phil didn't really know why he was bringing this up. He didn't want to break up with Dan, but he wanted answers. He felt that Dan was dodging the questions. Maybe he would finally get answers. Plus, he knew that he was slowly falling for Dan more and more, the longer they keep up the charade. If Phil ends things now he'll get less hurt then in the end. Why does this whole act sound as if they are actually dating? They're just best friends, at least on Dan's end.   
"I mean, I guess we don't have to," Dan admitted, swinging his and Phil's hands. "But I like pretending. It's kind of fun, you know?" Oh, Phil defiantly knew. But what did Dan mean when he said that it was "fun"? Could he possibly have feelings for Phil too? Phil really shouldn't be getting his hopes up so high. 

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Phil figured this was a safe thing to say. He was agreeing with Dan and leaving the statement open to interpretation, maybe Dan could make the inference that Phil was pining away over him. It wasn't too risky. "It kind of makes me wonder what it would be like if it was real." Now, that was risky. Phil mentally slapped himself as he thought about what he just said.

Who says that to their platonic best friend?

Dan moved to look at Phil, eyes wide. Oh, his really done it this time. Then Dan's face kind of adapted this small smile on it. 

"Do you mean that?" Dan asked, his voice as timid as Phil had ever heard it. 

"I mean it one-hundred percent," Phil said, nodding to further show his point. "I swear." 

Dan took Phil's other hand in his grasp, turning to fully face him as they both stopped walking on the sidewalk, cars rushing on the busy road to the right of them. "Could I maybe kiss you?" Dan asked, eyes completely locked on Phil. Phil felt as if it was just him and Dan in the world. 

It felt incredible.

Phil quickly nodded and that's all that Dan needed to lean forward and connect their lips. Dan dropped Phil's hands, instead placing them on his hips. Phil looped his arms behind Dan's back, his wrists resting just at the small of Dan's back. Their mouths moved as if they had been doing this for years, learning just the correct way to kiss each other. 

It was incredible, and Phil never wanted it to end. 

Dan pulled back, both of them eventually needing to breath properly. "Okay, I really think we deserve celebratory ice cream now." Dan said, giggling in the way he did when he was flustered. Phil joined in with him, pausing to briefly place a chaste kiss to Dan's mouth. 

"Yeah, I think we do." He agreed.

.

"No, we were just pretending to date!" Dan said for the umpteenth time. They had decided a week after officially dating to tell their friends the entire story; at least, that's what they were trying to do. "Me and Phil pretended to date so that I could come out as gay, but then we figured out that we both had real feelings for each other and ending up kissing and now we're dating for real now." 

Louise giggled a little at Dan's angry outburst. To be fair, Phil knew that all their friends understood, they just enjoyed pissing off Dan when the could. And Dan was a person who was easily blinded by anger, so it really wasn't that hard. 

Dan sighed heavily, sinking back into Phil's arms. "You know they get it, right?" Phil whispered into Dan's ear, watching as the boy's already flushed cheeks became even redder. "They just like seeing you get riled up." 

Dan shrugged, trying to make it seem like he didn't just realize. "Yeah, I totally knew that." Phil laughed, causing Dan to swat at his arm, though grinning at his own obliviousness. 

Phil pulled Dan into a kiss, glad that he could finally kiss Dan whenever he wanted. 

They were happy, and that's all that mattered.


End file.
